Preparation

Place break on a cookie sheet in an even layer. Dry in a 250 degree oven for about an hour (flipping about every 15 minutes) or place on sheet a day earlier, defrost and dry on the counter, uncovered. If it is not dry enough, put in oven for about 15 minutes or until it feels like dry toast.

Place 1 cup raisins and 1 cup broth in saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes and remove from heat. You can also microwave for four minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a heavy skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of the EVOO. Sauté onion and fennel until soft, about 10 minutes then cool slightly.

Cube the dried bread roughly and place in a very large bowl. Add salt, poultry seasoning, cooled raisins, onion and fennel; whisk eggs and add to the bowl, tossing lightly with your hands.

Place the mixture in the prepared baking pan. Drizzle with a little more EVOO and another cup of broth. Bake, covered for about 35 minutes at 350 degrees (with other things in your oven) and uncover for the last 10 minutes.

Preparation:

Brush D’Avolio EVOO into a 1 1/2-quart casserole. It also works well in a pie plate. Heat oven to 350°. If you double the recipe, bake longer and check with a knife.In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients and whisk or beat on low speed until blended. Pour into the prepared casserole and bake for 55 to 65 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. If desired, serve with sweetened whipped cream and cinnamon sugar for sprinkling.Serve with whipped cream.

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Brush olive oil into a 3 quart oven safe roasting pan. If the oven is hotter reduce the cooking time by about 10 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Peel potatoes and cut into 1’1 1/2″ chunks. Boil for about 5 minutes. Drain.

In heavy skillet heat 1 tablespoon of EVOO and saute onion for about 5-7 minutes until caramelized. Add mushrooms and toss with onions. Cook for about a minute and remove from heat. Add drained potatoes and toss. Add agave and toss.

Evenly place them into the prepared pan and roast for about 30 minutes until they are soft.

Line a baking pan with foil. Drizzle Extra Virgin Olive Oil on bottom. With a tablespoon or cookie scoop, evenly scoop about 24 balls and place them in the pan. In a small bowl add about ¼ cup oil. Using fingers from one hand, rub som oil on the other palm then repeat with the other hand. Roll three balls, reapply oil and repeat until done.

Broil until brown on one side, flip being careful not to break them and brown on the other side. Remove into a bowl and repeat the cooking steps with the remaining meatball mixture.

Meanwhile, in large sauce pot, sauté onions until translucent then add garlic. Add red wine and turn heat to high and stir until wine is reduced by more than half.

Add tomatoes, seasoning and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low, stirring every few minutes. After second batch of meatballs are cooked, remove them to the bowl then gently add meatballs into sauce. Stir carefully and heat through for 10 minutes.

I just created a recipe for mini meatballs that uses quinoa instead of breadcrumbs (the recipe is gluten free). It looks kind of strange and there is that slight crunch from the quinoa. I thought I was not going to like it because it really is not a meatball but rather a vegetable ball with ground turkey.

But, as I have been thinking of how different they are, I keep eating them.

With a tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop out 20-24 balls into oily pan. Dip fingers in oil and rub on opposite palm. Repeat with the other hand. Roll ball lightly and put back in pan. Oil hands about every three balls.

Broil until crisp on one side. Gently flip and broil until crisp. Gently remove from pan, add more olive oil and repeat until done. Makes at least 50 small balls.

I am still deciding what kind of a dipping sauce I would like to use. These would make a great hor d’oeuvre with a cup of toothpicks and some tomato vodka sauce.

I was also thinking of making some orzo, tossing it with olive oil and heating some jar tomato sauce for a delicious entree.